


Give You My Soul Freely

by benvoliotheorphan, pocketsquid



Series: Meet Me [4]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games), The Transformers (IDW Generation One)
Genre: (for first and second chapter), Accidental Bonding, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, F/M, First Time, Fluff and Smut, Size Difference, Spark Play, Spark Sexual Interfacing (Transformers), Sticky Sexual Interfacing, Transformers Spark Bonds, Xeno, they don't intentionally bond in this fic i'm sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:36:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26721505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benvoliotheorphan/pseuds/benvoliotheorphan, https://archiveofourown.org/users/pocketsquid/pseuds/pocketsquid
Summary: Rodimus is touchy about his spark for many reasons, so he has some hesitation about sharing it with just anyone. Aqua isn't just anyone, though, and Rodimus knows she can be trusted with something like this - after all, he already trusts her with his spark in every other way.(This takes place after the epilogue ofMeet Me in the Middle of the Dayand refers to that fic frequently, so please read that first if you haven't yet.)
Relationships: Aqua (Kingdom Hearts)/Rodimus | Rodimus Prime
Series: Meet Me [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1891117
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After many months of dating, a love confession, and lots and lots of thinking, Rodimus shows Aqua his spark for the first time.
> 
> Some notes...  
> \- I reject the canon that states that Cybertronians have to rule out being Conjunx before they can become Amica because I don't like it. Drift and Roddy didn't do this when they became Amica because platonic and romantic relationships are not necessarily steps up or down from each other.  
> \- Roddy has a praise kink and nobody can convince me otherwise.

It was kind of funny, actually, how quickly Rodimus warmed up to the idea of showing Aqua his spark.

For a while, the thought hadn't even occurred to him: to most Cybertronian couples, showing one's spark was a lifelong proposal of sorts. Whether the relationship was romantic or platonic, sharing your spark meant that you were in it for the long haul, that you trusted your partner enough to not snuff out your life force before your very eyes.

So far, Rodimus had only trusted one other individual to see his spark. The relationship he had with Drift was entirely platonic in nature, of course, but the two of them being amica rather than conjunx didn't change the strength or sincerity of their bond.

He and Aqua had yet to reach such a point, and Rodimus hadn't expected them to for quite some time. He was content with taking things slow, especially since they were both quite new to all of this - Aqua hadn't really dated before, and Rodimus hadn't ever dated with intention to move past casual interfacing. It would have been so much easier to barge through their relationship and leap over boundaries, but things with Aqua were different. From the moment he met her he felt it, and he knew that he wanted to take his time to get to know her.

And so, sharing his spark with her wasn't even a stray thought in his mind.

Until the day Aqua had asked him upfront if she could see it. Up to that point, he had been content with crossing that bridge with her if they ever reached it, at some vague and mysterious point in the future...

His gut reaction to the question was a very firm _no_ \- and, admittedly, Rodimus had overreacted a bit. It was one of the most embarrassing encounters he'd had in a while, and he knew the feeling was only multiplied for Aqua.

And then, as understanding began to dawn on her and she realized that what she was asking was so deeply _personal_ to him, she backed off, apologizing profusely and allowing him to set that boundary. He hadn't expected her to force him or anything, but the respect she showed for his feelings made Rodimus backpedal pretty quickly.

It became less of a no and more of a... maybe. By that point, they had grown closer, as well as two people could with such a great distance between them. Perhaps in the future, once they had reunited, it would be a bigger possibility. He was content with that.

And then, a few months later, she told him she loved him.

His spark surged toward her that night, despite the fact that she was merely an image displayed on a datapad. There was no way she could feel it, even if she were standing there in the room with him, but to him such a reaction was undeniable.

His spark trusted her. His spark... _wanted_ her.

It was then he realized that somewhere, along the way, he had grown to love her too. The ease of being able to return the sentiment to her was a bit surprising at first, but the more he thought about it, the more he knew he meant the words. Right there, in his spark, Rodimus felt that they were true.

Later that night, after they hung up and bid each other goodnight, Rodimus took some time to think about what this meant for them. Among his thoughts, he decided that, barring any incidents that arose between them, Aqua would be seeing his spark.

With their future so full of mystery, Rodimus didn't know when he would get the chance to show it to her, but now he was certain that it would be happening.

* * *

After their reunion, Aqua gave Rodimus a tour of the town, and then of the home she shared with her friends. It was certainly different to what Rodimus was used to, but he hardly minded. He wasn't moving in or anything, but it would certainly work as a place for them to meet in between the Lost Light's errand runs - though, Rodimus planned to keep the ship relatively close by, so he supposed they could meet just about anywhere.

Now that the tour was over, they were sitting on her bed, catching up on things that they couldn't convey over a phone or through a screen. She sat cross-legged in front of him, close enough to hold his hands and look deeply into his optics. It was almost surreal, having her so close to him again - to hear her soft giggle so clearly, to smell her shampoo again, to be able to lean over and kiss her on the tip of her nose?

No video chat could ever replicate this.

As their conversation had slowed to a pause, she took her time to look at his face up-close, running her fingers gently along the points of his helm. He felt the soft flutter of his spark in his chassis for what had to be the hundredth time that evening, the soft sensation reminding him of something he'd been wanting to tell her. He'd just been waiting for the right moment, and the quiet lull in their conversation made it seem like a good enough time to bring it up.

"Aqua... I've been thinking about some stuff." he said, his voice a bit shaky.

She must have sensed his nervousness, regarding him with a look of concern. "Hmm? Like what?" she asked quietly.

"Nothing bad, just... You remember a few months ago, when you... umm..." he swallowed, "wanted to see my spark?"

Aqua's eyes went wide, a bright flush running across her cheeks. She leaned back a bit and cleared her throat, moving her hands from his frame to rest them in her lap. "I, well. Yes. I still feel terrible about it, I wish Terra or Ven had told me that was inappropriate to ask about it like that--!"

Rodimus smiled, though it fell a bit. "No, it's okay. I'm not trying to make you feel bad. I'm sure I already did a good job of that." He leaned forward to kiss her forehead before he continued. "I brought it up because I... want to show it to you."

There was a rather drawn out pause as she took in his words. "Really?" she eventually asked.

He smiled again, a bit more firmly this time. "Yeah. Not _right now_ , but... Yeah. I trust you."

He picked up both of her hands, ignoring the way his own trembled, and kissed along the top of her knuckles, waiting for her to think it over. Before long, Aqua's face broke out into a bright smile.

"Thank you, Rodimus. I'm flattered that you would even consider it," she said, leaning forward to kiss him softly. The gentle touch and the sincerity in her voice had his chestplates pinging for attention, and it was all he could do to fight the code and keep his spark concealed.

He didn't know when they would get around to it, but he was certain he had made the right decision.

* * *

As it turned out, there would be few bumps in the road along the way.

Rodimus _tried_ to show her his spark, he really did! But his shyness and nerves got the best of him every time. He struggled just as badly as he had when he and Drift went through with their amica ceremony, overthinking everything and working himself up into a panic before backing out entirely, and he was getting frustrated with himself.

Deep down, Rodimus knew she wouldn't hurt him - with words or physical actions or otherwise. He knew she wouldn't think his spark was weird, or ugly, or anything like that. She understood the meaning behind it now and would likely take it very seriously. 

But... knowing all of this that didn't stop his nerves. He wasn't sure what he was so afraid of, exactly, but it was enough to keep his chestplates tightly sealed, over and over and over.

And, with every failed attempt came nothing but calm, undeniable patience from Aqua.

Not once did she complain about Rodimus being unable to follow through with this. She never belittled his feelings, or made him feel guilty for changing his mind. He had never expected her to pressure him in any way, of course, but he still found himself surprised by her reaction. Rodimus could tell that Aqua really wanted to see his spark, but more importantly, she wanted him to be comfortable with it.

Three attempts were behind them now, and he was _determined_ to make this happen. Aqua might have been content to take it slow, but every time she got near him, Rodimus felt like his spark was going to burst right out of his chassis!

Luckily, it wasn't long until another opportunity for him to overcome his own apprehension presented itself, and he was more than happy to try and act on it.

They were sitting in Rodimus' habsuite, having just finished up a pretty fun date. It had been a lovely day for a walk, though they had taken a few breaks for important things like cloudgazing, and eating snacks, and picking flowers.

Rodimus had Aqua in one servo and his datapad in the other, as they were getting ready to pick out a movie or tv show to watch. The Lost Light was relatively quiet with most of the crew gone, so it seemed like the perfect time to sit back and relax a bit. Aqua squirmed around in his palm, trying to get comfortable with her fluffy blanket. Once she had found a nice spot, she leaned her head back and it thudded softly against his chassis.

In an instant, his spark surged forward, straining to reach Aqua through the metal of his chest armor. It almost seemed to have a will of its own, yearning to touch her, to wrap around her and draw her as close as possible. While this wasn't the first time her closeness had brought forth such a strong, almost greedy reaction, he certainly hadn't experienced anything like this before knowing her, and he was still kind of getting used to it.

He quickly made a decision - he hated to change their plans so suddenly, but he knew if he started to overthink things, the shyness would return and overshadow all logical thought.

"Aqua," he said quietly, setting the datapad down next to him.

She sat up and turned to face him, looking rather confused. "Yes?"

His chestplates rattled between them, both in excitement and nerves. "I'm, umm, ready. To show it to you. For real this time."

She thought over his words for a moment before responding. "Are you sure?"

He nodded, and before his anxiety could get the best of him, he moved Aqua out of the way and began to disengage the locks of his armor.

The soft clicks drew Aqua's curious eyes to his chassis in an instant. Rather than take his time to think about parting the plating as he had done before, Rodimus all but forced it open, preventing all opportunities of backing out at the last minute. Internally, he was kind of panicking, but he knew he had been overthinking this from day one. He really did want to show her his spark, because he trusted her and loved her more than anything, and he wanted her to know that, self-consciousness be damned.

Waiting for the plating to fold away was a long, nerve-wracking moment for Rodimus. But once it was all said and done, he found himself greeted by the sight of Aqua bathed in the brilliant glow of his spark, and decided it was well worth the effort.

She stared at his spark with wide, wondrous eyes, her soft mouth parted as she took it in. She leaned toward his chassis, nearly tumbling off of his hand and into his lap, but luckily caught and righted herself before such a thing could happen. It was obvious that she was having a hard time tearing her eyes away, and Rodimus would have chuckled at her if he had the ability to do so.

As it was, he tried his best not to squirm under her gaze, shoving away the nervousness that still tingled in his struts.

Instead, he looked down at Aqua once more, admiring the way the light of his spark illuminated her form. He was happy he didn't need to breathe, as he found his vents hitching at the sight of her, just as Aqua seemed breathless at the sight of his spark. She was always gorgeous, of course, but now...

He felt bright, almost giddy desire twisting in his tanks as he observed her, which was promptly ignored and pushed to the side.

"Rodimus..." she murmured, drawing him out of his thoughts, "it's... it's _beautiful_ ,"

She sat quietly for another long moment, watching the tendrils of light swirling about hypnotically. Then, her look of awe morphed into warm, almost palpable affection, and she smiled.

"Out of all my travels, all the things I've seen, this? This is probably the most beautiful. I've never seen _anything_ like it."

His now exposed spark quivered at her words, the color shifting to a near-blinding white. Rodimus' engine stuttered obnoxiously, and he brought a hand to cover his face as the remaining ember of his confidence all but fizzled out.

"You okay?" she asked, her soft voice barely piercing through the sudden self-consciousness clouding his thoughts.

Rodimus managed a nod. "I... think so," he said weakly through his palm.

"Do you want to stop?"

He considered it a moment. While he wasn't _uncomfortable_ , he was certainly unused to feeling so... vulnerable.

"No," he decided.

He felt Aqua's tiny hand smooth along his palm in reassurance. "Okay... Tell me if you change your mind."

Rodimus nodded, finally moving his free hand from his flaming cheeks to look down at her again. She was ready to meet his eyes, and likely had been watching his face the entire time she was making sure he was okay.

His spark twisted at the thought, and he bit back a groan. "This is, just, kind of a lot," he admitted. "Maybe, umm, not much longer." He hoped she could figure out what he was trying to say while his processor was so tangled up.

She nodded. "I understand. I'm... really happy that you showed me," she said, still looking into his eyes. "Thank you."

"Y-you're welcome", he replied bashfully, taking a deep vent to ground himself a bit. All she was doing was looking at it, but the way she was looking at it had him feeling so... Loved? Treasured? Important?

Aqua's open honesty was going to be the death of him.

She took one last look, hardly blinking, as though she were trying to memorize it, and then looked back up at him with a gentle pat to his palm. Rodimus realized she was quietly reminding him that he could close his chestplates if he wanted to, so he took the chance to do just that, sealing his spark away once more.

Once his spark was safe and sound within his armor again, Aqua reached her hands toward his head, which he had come to understand was her way to quickly tell him she wanted to be near his face. He lifted her up and she laid soft, sweet kisses everywhere she could reach.

"I know that was difficult for you but... it means a lot to me. Thank you, Rodimus," she murmured against the smooth metal of his cheek. "Do you mind if we just cuddle like this for a little while?"

A small smile returned to Rodimus' face, his spark finally starting to settle down. "That sounds really nice," he agreed, leaning back against the wall behind him and picking up his datapad. "Thank you. I love you."

She kissed his face again, patting his cheek affectionately. "I love you too, Rodimus."

* * *

The following week, Aqua was spending a quiet afternoon with Rodimus in his habsuite. He had planned to take her out on a romantic picnic today, but the weather turned on them at the last minute, forcing them to bring their meal indoors - and in this case, that meant onto the Lost Light.

Aqua was pretty bummed about it, though she was clearly trying not to let it show. She'd been so excited to bring Rodimus to this world, only for it to fall apart at the last minute. He knew that staying on the ship was nowhere near as exciting as what they had planned to do that day, but he hoped that the evening could be still salvaged.

Luckily, her mood improved quite a bit once she got some food in her belly, for which Rodimus was thankful. He had worked very hard to pick out her half of the picnic, and he was happy to see he had successfully chosen things that she liked eating. 

"If the storm clears up by tomorrow, would you like to try to go down there again?" Rodimus asked as he sipped on a cube of energon.

Aqua considered it for a moment before frowning. "I dunno. I mean, I would love to go there with you, and it would be a lot more convenient than going all the way back to my world and returning another day..."

Rodimus sensed she was not finished with her thought, so he prompted her with a "But?"

She looked up at him. "Well, I would have to stay the night."

Now it was Rodimus' turn to frown, though his was in confusion. "Yeah...? I mean, there's plenty of room for you, and we still have that tiny little bed and bathroom that Nautica built for you --"

"I know. It's not that. It's just..." she trailed off, seemingly unsure of how to continue her sentence.

It mattered very little - Rodimus connected the dots rather quickly on his own when she looked away from him, a bright blush staining her cheeks. She seemed to be nervous about the implication of being invited to stay the evening. They had spent nights together before without it moving past cuddles, so he hadn't even considered the more _intimate_ aspect of his invitation.

" _Oh_. I see," he said quietly, giving her a soft, reassuring smile. "Well, don't worry about that. It doesn't even have to be a thing. We can just watch a movie or something!"

She glanced up at him, nodding a few times. "Well, alright. I mean, I really um, I wouldn't mind. Doing that. Just so you know," she said, looking down at her fingers as she fidgeted with the edge of her shirt. 

Seeing Aqua so bashful over all of this was rather cute, and Rodimus felt warmth bloom in his chassis. But, cute or not, she was definitely feeling nervous about where the night was headed, which was the last thing he wanted. So, he leaned down until he was closer to her eye level, waiting for her to meet his gaze before speaking up. 

"I wouldn't mind it either, but there's no pressure to do that. _Ever_. We can just see how things work out, okay?" he said.

Aqua eventually nodded, taking a shaky breath and losing some of the tension she'd been holding in her shoulders. "Alright. That... sounds nice," she said, a soft little smile blossoming across her features. "Thank you, Rodimus."

"Of course," Rodimus replied, grinning warmly at her. "Now then, let's a least get your stuff squared away for the night."

After cleaning up the remains of their meal, Rodimus went to retrieve the human-sized amenities, which were built for Aqua and her friends when one of them realized that there were no beds or toilets on board. Luckily, Nautica worked quickly, eager to help get the humans what they needed for the short amount of time they had stayed on board.

When he returned to his habsuite, Aqua was looking up at him with barely concealed curiosity.

"What's up?" he asked as he set down the cubicles in one corner of his room - one tiny bedroom and one tiny bathroom, built just for Aqua.

"Hmmm? Oh, nothing," she said, waving a dismissive hand at him. "Thanks for bringing those."

He snorted, raising an eyebrow. "I can tell you're thinking about something. If you don't wanna tell me, that's cool, but..." he trailed off, making sure that the small rooms were easily accessible and that he hadn't broken anything while he carried them across the ship. He popped the top of the boxes off to arrange the furniture in what he thought was a logical manner before carefully placing Aqua's tiny belongings by the bed.

Aqua remained quiet for a long moment, but eventually voiced her thoughts aloud. "Well, I've been thinking... about, um, your spark."

Rodimus fumbled with the tiny piece of furniture he was holding, nearly crushing it when he tried to prevent himself from dropping it entirely.

"Oh. Okay." He set the dresser down gently, turning to face her again. "What about it?"

This was the first time _Aqua_ had brought his spark up since... well, since she asked to see it during that video chat, all those months ago. He had no idea what she could have been thinking about, his mind racing at the possibilities. Perhaps she just wanted to see it again? That would probably be fine.

"I was wondering if I could... touch it?"

Rodimus cleared his intake, sitting up a bit. He thought it over for a few minutes before giving a definite answer.

Sparks were extremely delicate. Even between bonded couples, it was of utmost importance that any and all physical contact with a spark should be minimal, as it was so easy to snuff them out. Sure, he'd heard through the grapevine that it felt incredible, but he had never personally wanted to experience that for himself. It just felt too risky. But, at the same time...

He glanced over at Aqua, looking at her little hands, which were currently fisted around the corner of the blanket she had curled up in. They were so unbelievably tiny, he doubted that she would ever be capable of actually hurting him like that unless she truly wanted to.

The more that he thought about it, he realized that he probably wouldn't even feel it. Surely it couldn't be that bad, right?

"I wouldn't be... opposed to that," he finally said. "Did you want to, umm... right now?"

Aqua smiled reassuringly at him. "If you want to, sure! If not, that's okay. I'm mostly just... curious."

"Nah, I'm cool with that. It shouldn't be such a big deal this time, since you've already seen it and all," he said.

Rodimus settled onto his berth, leaning comfortably against the wall behind him, then reached a hand down to pick Aqua up again. She scrambled excitedly onto his palm, and he chuckled at her eagerness.

Aqua, who was so shy about staying over the night, seemed to have no problem with this at all. It kind of made sense, as none of it would affect her, but still.

Once they were both situated comfortably, Rodimus took a steadying vent and opened his chestplates. As he suspected, it was a lot less nerve-racking this time, though he was still hesitant, unsure of what was to come.

As soon as the light began to peek through his armor, Aqua's face broke into a bright, adoring smile. She let out a happy sigh.

"It's still the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Nothing could ever top this," she said, looking up at Rodimus' face.

Because he knew to expect her sweet words, it was easier for him to fight down his overeager gut reaction, though energon still rushed to his face. "I, well, thank you."

"You're more than welcome," she said. "Are you ready...?"

"I think so," he replied with a nod. "Just, y'know, go slow. I've never touched it before."

"Of course."

He hadn't realized he was holding her so far away from his chest until she cleared her throat, her arm stretching toward him. "I can't really reach from here, Rodimus. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Ah, yeah. Sorry." He pushed his hand a bit closer so she could actually touch him. "Is that better?"

"Much," she replied, "thank you."

One tiny hand gripped the edge of his spark chamber for balance. He felt that, though it wasn't all that different from when she gripped any other part of his armor to hold onto.

He watched her with a fond smile as she reached forward with her free hand, a single tiny digit poking out of her fist, her face scrunched up in concentration - Aqua focusing on anything was quite an adorable sight, and this time was no different.

His spark, however, grew impatient with her tentative pace - it seemed to have a mind of its own, sending one long tendril out to meet her halfway.

Aqua held as still as she could manage, though her hesitance did little to slow anything down as it wrapped around her wrist, tugging her forward a bit.

"Oh! This is... weird," she said quietly, unable to tear her eyes away from it.

Rodimus wasn't really paying attention, though. He was a little busy mentally slapping himself at his earlier thoughts. _Probably wouldn't even feel it_ , huh? Yeah, what a fragging joke!

It was, quite frankly, one of the most intense experiences of his entire life. He had no idea what he was feeling just yet, but there was so much of the sensation that he felt like he was drowning in it. He could feel every tiny millimeter of her skin in there, regardless of how gentle she was trying to be. It wasn't so bad when she just sat still, but then -

"This is... odd. It feels..." she fought to find a descriptive word that fit, "soft, almost. And it's so warm. I don't understand..." Aqua carefully opened her hand, allowing more little nooks and crannies for the tendrils to cling to, and it was all Rodimus could do to hold still and quiet as white hot pleasure shot down his struts.

His fans clattered to life, attempting to dispel the warmth suddenly trapped under his plating. His entire frame trembled as he fought for some sort of control over himself. His optics went wide as the code for his interface panels pinged insistently, begging for his attention.

"Umm, Aqua?" he said, unable to hide the hysterical edge to his voice.

She looked up at him, eyes widening in shock at the state he was in. "Rodimus! Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"N-n-nothing is wrong! Well, sort of?" Rodimus said. He was venting orally as he fought to find his words. "I just wanted, wanted you to-to know, I don't mean to, um, alarm you, but, my interface equipment is going to, activate, whether I want it to or not," he forced the words out just as the quiet _snick_ sounded below them. "Ahh, there it goes! I'm s-sorry!"

He clapped a shaky hand over his face in mortification. This is not how he was expecting things to go, at all. He peeked through his fingers, honestly afraid to see Aqua's reaction.

She was frozen, her face redder than he had ever seen before. She hadn't turned toward the source of the sound, but it seemed that she didn't need to in order to know what had just happened. Thankfully, now that her hand had stopped moving, he had a moment to vent, to untangle the mess in his processor.

"I... what? I didn't, I didn't know...? " Her eyebrows were pinched in concern as she watched Rodimus helplessly.

"I, um, sort of knew, but I never believed it or I would have said something, trust me--"

"Rodimus, I am so sorry, I can't believe --!"

"No, it's fine, it's not, it's not bad or anything. Just, really intense," he said through gritted dentae. "Just... need a minute... don't move."

Aqua obediently held her hand still, watching him carefully. A small smile broke across her face as he took long, deep draws of air to try and cool himself off. His free hand flopped down to his side after a moment, hitting the berth with a muffled _thud_.

"You know, I was wondering why it was glowing so brightly... That explains a lot."

Rodimus huffed in amusement, his helm thunking against the wall behind him. "Congratulations, Aqua. I don't think I've ever gotten revved up that quickly in my entire existence. You deserve an award."

Aqua blushed, but her smile grew wider. "If I had known it would cause that sort of reaction, I would have taken my time," she said shyly. "But it seems like your spark had different plans."

"Yeah, no kidding. I think it likes you," he joked, finally cracking a smile of his own. "You can... um, move. If you want. Just... slowly."

Aqua hummed in response. "Alright. Do you want me to move... away? Or...?"

Rodimus shrugged a shoulder. "Well... that's up to you. I can clean myself up and we can move on with our lives, no problem. Or we can continue. But, if you do continue... I'm going to want to return the favor afterward. I hope you know that," he said, sending a wobbly wink her way.

Aqua's blush returned full-force, her fingers trembling where they were still wrapped in Rodimus' spark. "That's... You don't have to, really!"

Her reaction was nothing short of _adorable_ , and a soft laugh fell out of Rodimus at the sight. "Of course I don't have to, but I want to. If you're on board that is."

Aqua considered it for a moment. "We'll see," she said, slowly extracting her hand from Rodimus' spark, just stopping short of pulling it out entirely. That brief movement alone had Rodimus biting back a groan, but it seemed that she wasn't quite done. "For now, allow me to finish what I accidentally started."

And with that, she began to move her hand with purpose. She had Rodimus moaning and thrashing about in a matter of moments, engine revving and fans blasting with just a light twist of her wrist. 

Aqua's eyes were glued on him, he could feel it, but his own optics were shuttered tightly in concentration. The sooner they finished this, the sooner he could focus on her.

"Is this okay?" he heard her ask, though her voice sounded so far away.

He nodded. "Mhmm, more than okay. I promise," he managed to say.

And so, Aqua carried on. After a few minutes, Rodimus heard her gasp quietly, and he peeked an optic open to see that she had finally turned her head, seeing the mess between Rodimus' thighs. "Well, _that's_ certainly bigger than I was expecting," she muttered, turning toward his face with wide eyes.

Rodimus couldn't help the short laugh that fell out of his mouth, though it quickly turned into a groan as Aqua gently twisted her wrist again. She hummed thoughtfully as she tickled his spark, taking her time to comb her fingers carefully through the tendrils.

"You know I love you, Rodimus. _All_ of you. But your spark might just be my favorite part of you," she told him earnestly.

Rodimus' engine stuttered at the words, much to his embarrassment. "I... um, thank you. I love you too," he bit out, squirming against the berth at the new wave of heat that washed over him.

Aqua raised a brow at his response, her mouth twitching as she fought down a grin. "Mhmm. I mean, your optics are right at the top of the list too, but your spark is incredible," she said, voice light and casual, as though they were having a conversation about movies that they liked. "It's just so bright, and beautiful, and vibrant, like you. If only you could see yourself right now, how _gorgeous_ you are like this --"

And just like that, Rodimus was thrown over the edge with a shout.

He felt his spark tug on Aqua's wrist, tendrils running up her arm to try and bring her closer. If he had to guess, it was ready to pull her into the chamber entirely, regardless of the danger such an action presented.

His entire frame convulsed, and he felt an optic fizzle out as his overload shot through him. He could recall most his partner-induced overloads of the past, and this one was, without a doubt, the most intense that he had ever experienced - not that he was complaining of course.

Aqua took the opportunity to free her hand, the action being more than enough to prolong the sensation without becoming too much. It didn't take long for the last of his charge to dispel, and then he was peering down at Aqua with his one remaining optic.

"Rodimus, your eye!" Aqua said worriedly as she reached up toward his face.

He closed his chestplates, taking a moment to gather himself. He was ready to recharge right now, but he pushed his tiredness aside to clean himself up at least.

"Don't worry, it's nothing," he reassured her, lifting her up so she could examine it herself. He winced at how gravelly his voice sounded, though there was little he could do about that until he'd had some time to rest. "It just got a little overwhelmed with some excess charge. My nanites will repair it."

She ran her tiny little hands all over his cheeks. "Does it hurt?"

"Nah, I don't even feel it." He gave her a lopsided grin. "I can't believe you made me overload so hard that I blew out an optic. That's never happened before."

Aqua flushed brightly. "Well, I hope that's a good thing. It sure didn't seem like I was doing anything, just barely turning my hand...?" She mimicked the seemingly harmless action, though with what just happened, it was almost obscene.

"Trust me, it was more than enough," he reassured her with a smile. "Now, let me just clean this up, and you can decide if you want me to thank you properly." He set Aqua down at his side, then pulled a towel out of his subspace, carefully wiping away the slick discharge.

Primus, the stuff was _everywhere_.

He would have been embarrassed about the mess, but the overload felt so good that he couldn't bring himself to care all that much. Once he finished his crude cleanup, he turned to see that Aqua was watching him with wide eyes and a bright red face.

"Are you alright?" he asked, tossing the rag over the side of the berth.

"I, well... I don't think I'm quite ready for... that," she said, nodding toward Rodimus' spike.

Rodimus smiled softly down at her, shaking his head. "I'm not gonna make you do anything like that, don't worry," he assured her, grimacing a little as he sealed away his still-sticky equipment for now. "I had different plans that would feel a lot better than that, though it's entirely up to you."

Aqua considered it for a long moment. "Maybe... maybe we could try...?"

"It's not a one time decision. You can tap out at any time," he reminded her. "Just tell me to stop and I'll stop."

"Well... in that case, what could it hurt?" she said quietly, eyes quickly darting away from his.

"Trust me - nothing about it will hurt. C'mere," he said, laying a hand down flat against his berth. "If you want to."

With a look of determination, Aqua climbed onto his hand, and was gently picked up from the berth so she was eye level with Rodimus.

"You ready?" he mururmed.

She took a steadying breath and nodded, reaching up to hug his giant cheeks again. "I love you, and... I trust you," she said.

Rodimus gave a shaky sigh at the sincerity of her words. He brought her close to his chassis, his spark fluttering when she braced her weight against his frame. Once she was settled, he stood carefully, carrying her over to the human-sized amenities that he had set up earlier. He kneeled down next to the small bedroom, pulling Aqua away from him and gently placing her on the little bed through the open ceiling.

She settled down on the edge of the mattress, biting her bottom lip and looking down into her lap. Rodimus didn't move for a long moment, and she was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even seem to notice.

"Hey," he said softly.

Aqua looked up at him, flushing brightly when his remaining optic met hers, and he felt warmth bloom in his chassis at the adroable sight.

"We don't have to do anything if you don't want to," he reminded her. "If you want, we can just hang out!"

She quickly shook her head. "No! No, it's okay, I want to, to uhh..." she trailed off, looking away from him before continuing quietly. "I'm just a little... nervous, I guess."

Rodimus nodded in understanding. Though his first attempt at interfacing was millions of years ago, he could still vividly recall how nervous he felt at the time - and in the end, his anxiety only made the already bad experience worse. It was incredibly awkward and uncomfortable, and that was the last thing he wanted to put Aqua through.

"It's okay to be nervous," he reassured her. "Is there any way I can help you feel more comfortable?"

Aqua tapped her chin, thinking it over for a long moment. "Can you... shrink down?" she requested.

"Of course!" Rodimus quickly replied. After replacing the room's ceiling to give them some more privacy, he activated the code for mass displacement. "I was going to, but I wanted to make sure you were alright first."

Within a few minutes, Rodimus was a much more manageable size, and he walked through the small doorway to take a seat on the edge of the mattress. He opened his arms in a silent offer, and she immediately climbed onto his lap, laying her head on his chassis.

"Is this better?" he asked, stroking his servos along her back in what he hoped was a comforting way.

Aqua nodded, wrapping her shaky arms around him in a tight hug. "Much."

He held her close for a long moment, happy to note that she was starting to relax, all but melting into his touch. Her head lifted a few minutes later, and she unwound her arms to cup his face. She gazed at him tenderly, her thumbs running along his cheek finials, and Rodimus allowed his optic to shutter at the soft touch. He felt Aqua lean her weight forward, planting a kiss just below the burned-out optic and drawing a quiet laugh from him.

He onlined his functioning optic again, looking deep into her eyes as best as he could with only half of his vision.

"May I kiss you?" he asked her softly.

She nodded, leaning forward to meet him halfway.

Rodimus kept the kiss gentle and sweet, moving one servo to rest on her waist while the other cupped the back of her head. He tried to ignore just how _soft_ her thighs and chest were as they pressed against his frame, though it was honestly a bit of a challenge. It was something he had been struggling with ever since they reunited all those weeks ago, but after what happened tonight, he found it was even more difficult.

She pulled away to catch her breath, looking at him with a flushed face and bright, glassy eyes. Rodimus' spark swirled around in his chassis at the sight, and he smiled warmly at her, leaning forward again to leave careful kisses along her jawline. He reached the soft spot behind her ear and nuzzled into it, his smile widening when he heard her suck in a quiet breath.

"Is this okay?" he whispered against her skin.

Aqua shuddered, her fingers clutching at his helm in a way that probably would have hurt if they were the same species. He waited patiently for her to respond, remaining still until she gave him a short nod.

"Yeah," she replied, her voice just as quiet as his had been. "Feels... nice."

"Mmmm, good."

With that, Rodimus carried on, kissing his way across her jaw again. She continued to grip his helm, though she didn't push or pull him in any particular way, seeming content with just holding on to him.

He licked and kissed his way down her throat, the salty tang of her skin piquing his interest - it was completely different to the cool, metallic taste of a Cybertronian's neck cables, but he decided that it was even more pleasant on his glossa.

His journey lead him down to her collarbone, and he nipped at it gently, his engine rumbling encouragingly when she made a soft sound. Rodimus repeated the action once more, soothing the spot with his glossa before retracing his path back up to her face.

He pressed one final kiss to her cheek before pulling away to look at her. A soft smile broke across his features at how hard she was breathing and the pink tint to her skin. Of course, even all wound up like this she was absolutely _adorable_ , though he never would have expected anything different.

"Do you want to keep going?" he asked, picking up one of her hands to hold.

She nodded quickly, swallowing hard and squeezing his digits. "Yes, please."

Rodimus smiled at her again, leaning forward to kiss her on the tip of her nose. "Alright. I'm gonna lay you down, if that's okay?"

Aqua blinked before nodding once more, giving him a small smile of her own. "That's fine," she said.

"Great," he said, wrapping his arms around her to pick her up. "Just lemme know if you change your mind."

As he stood up, Aqua quickly wound her legs around his waist, further anchoring herself to avoid being accidentally dropped. He let out a soft groan at the inviting warmth suddenly pressing against his closed spike panel, and it took all of his strength to keep the metal cover from popping open.

"S-sorry," she mumbled, her blush intensifying as he carefully deposited her onto the mattress.

Rodimus crawled over her, taking a steadying breath before resting his forearms on either side of her body. "You have nothing to be sorry for," he reassured her quietly, reaching up to cup one heated cheek.

He leaned down to bring their lips together once again, completely unable to resist the urge when she looked so bashful. When she nudged him away to catch her breath once more, he looked into her eyes, quickly becoming lost in her gaze.

"I love you," he reminded her.

"Love you too, Rodimus," she replied breathlessly, the warmth behind her words sending his spark spinning just like the first time she said them.

He gazed fondly at her for a moment, giving her cheek a small kiss before moving his hand to stroke her jawline, making his way down her body. He kept his optic locked on her face, watching her carefully as the tips of his digits trailed slowly down her throat.

Aqua bit her lip when his servo journeyed past her neck, tracing down the bony center of her chest before wandering over to one side, swirling cautiously along the swell of her breast. She let out a small gasp at the touch, and Rodimus felt warmth rush to his cheeks at her reaction.

"Is this okay?" he asked quietly, stilling his movements.

She continued to gnaw on her bottom lip, giving him a short nod.

Rodimus repeated the action with a little more confidence, though he still kept the touch light, not wanting to accidentally hurt her. He was pleasantly surprised when Aqua arched toward him, one of her hands wrapping around his servo to press her chest more firmly against his palm.

"Wow. You're... really soft," he remarked.

The flush on his cheeks brightened significantly when he realized he said such a thing out loud - _of course_ Aqua was soft, she was a human!

"Sorry. That was probably a really weird thing to say, I just... it's very new to me," he explained in a rush.

Aqua smiled up at him, moving her hand to cup his cheek, carefully stroking the area beneath his damaged optic. "You're so cute," she said fondly, her smile widening at the way his face heated even further underneath her touch.

"Hey, none of that! This is about making _you_ feel good," Rodimus said with a pout.

"Sorry," Aqua said, not sounding even remotely apologetic. "You're doing a great job so far."

"Well, that's good to hear at least," Rodimus mumbled, releasing her chest to let his digits trail down the length of her body once more.

He took extra time to pet carefully along her sides. It was probably a bit too careful, more of a tickle than anything, but the way she squirmed under his attention was rather cute.

It didn't take long for the tips of his digits to reach the edge of her shirt, and he traced along the small sliver of skin there. Rodimus' fingers then wandered underneath her shirt, and he sucked in a sharp vent when he felt the muscles of her abdomen tighten under his servo. Despite her smaller stature, he knew she was quite strong, having seen her in only a swimsuit when they first met. But knowing of her strength and feeling it were entirely different things.

He unfurled his digits to stoke her more surely, petting along the firm muscles of her stomach with awe. "Mmm... maybe you're not so soft after all," he remarked with a grin.

The smile on his face widened when she let out a small whine, her fingers gripping at the sheets below her - Primus, she was _adorable_ , writhing under the attention of his servos like that.

He wanted to see more, to touch more, but he also wanted to make sure Aqua was okay with that. So, he withdrew his servo, carefully pinching the fabric of her shirt between his digits. "May I remove this?" he asked.

Aqua nodded, taking a steadying breath before pushing lightly at the center of his chassis. "Here, let me do it."

Rodimus leaned back so that they could both sit up. "Thanks. I probably would end up tearing something," he grumbled.

As a metal robot with various decorative spines and pinchy joints, Rodimus quickly learned that any sort of fabric was his arch nemesis. After accidentally tearing holes in at least four of Aqua's blankets, he had all but banned himself from going anywhere near important looking fabric. Luckily, the sheets on this bed weren't anything special, so he didn't really care as much, but Aqua's clothes were _definitely_ off-limits.

Aqua let out a soft giggle. "It's okay, I know you can't help it," she said, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek. "You'll get better with practice."

Rodimus opened his mouth to say... something. Something that was instantly forgotten once Aqua's hands gripped the edge of her shirt, pulling it up and over her head.

He had indeed seen most of her body before - and though her swimsuit was hardly revealing, it certainly showed more skin than her regular clothes did. But while she was in her swimsuit, Rodimus had kept his eyes and hands to himself, as any decent person would. Now, she was giving him permission to look and touch, and he couldn't help the way his tanks twisted at the thought of doing either of those things.

Aqua kept her gaze pointed toward her lap, and Rodimus took a moment to admire the way the flush ran down her neck, dusting the top of her chest and dipping behind the undergarment she wore.

Next, she removed her pants, unfastening and sliding them down her legs. As the fabric was moved out of the way, Rodimus was hit with a strong, unusual scent. It was somewhat familiar, warm and tangy and wonderful, and definitely coming from Aqua.

A bright flush lit up his own cheeks when his processor determined it was probably her arousal that he was smelling, the realization sending warmth racing through his frame. He bit back a groan at the wave of heat that rolled behind his panels, wondering if it was too late to will his own charge away - he had gotten more than enough from the evening, after all. 

Aqua shot him a curious look, her hands reaching around her back to, presumably, remove her bra.

Rodimus grinned at her, crawling over to bury his face against her neck. "Sorry. You just... you smell _really good_ ," he murmured into her skin, thoroughly enjoying the way she shivered. He ran his servos up her thighs, resting carefully on her hips and stroking along the thin fabric of her panties.

"I, umm..." she said, her voice thin and shaky. "Well, thank you."

He leaned back, giving her some space so she could slide her bra off. She then reached to remove her underwear, her eyes widening when her fingers brushed against his.

Rodimus released her hips to allow her to remove the garment more easily. Once it was out of the way, she peered up at him shyly, giving him a small smile that sent warmth blooming in his chassis.

"Oh, Aqua... you're so cute," he remarked, grasping her shoulders gently to lean her back into the covers once more.

"Am not," Aqua grumbled. She reached up to cover her burning cheeks with her hands, making Rodimus chuckle quietly.

He carefully pried them away, laying a soft kiss on each palm before scattering a dozen more across her face. "Trust me on this one - you're adorable," he insisted, moving so his digits hovered over her warm, bare skin. "May I touch you?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, of course."

Rodimus gave her a soft smile, running his servos along her sides, stroking the smooth skin thoughtfully. "Alright, is there anything special that you want me to do?"

Aqua opened and closed her mouth a few times, her brows furrowed as she thought it over. "I don't know," she decided. "Is there anything you want to do?"

"Oh, yeah. I have plenty of ideas," he reassured her with a grin. "I could use my fingers, or eat you out, or both. Whatever you want," he said, his grin widening when he heard her breath hitch.

He gave a dreamy sigh at the next thought that popped into his processor, swallowing back the sudden rush of oral lubricant. "Mmmm, or you could sit on my face if you want, now that would be amazing --"

" _Alright_ , alright, I get it!" she cried, clapping a hand over his mouth. "You can do... whatever, just. Give me a heads up first."

Rodimus smiled against her palm, giving it a delicate kiss before leaning back to respond. "Of course," he replied. "First things first, I'm gonna get you warmed up, okay?"

Aqua gave a shaky nod. "I really don't think that's... necessary, but alright."

Rodimus quirked a brow at that, his smile morphing into a knowing smirk as the blush on her face brightened once again.

"Maybe not, but I wanna find out what kinds of things you like," he explained, his expression softening. "So, let me know. Or, if you don't like something, let me know that too."

He waited for Aqua to nod in understanding before he leaned down, capturing her lips once more. Before long, she was panting into his mouth, and Rodimus allowed his servos to wander somewhat.

She seemed to like when he touched her chest earlier, so he decided that would be as good of a place to start as any. Slowly, his hands skirted up her sides and over to her breasts, carefully cupping and kneading at the soft skin there. He all but tore his mouth from hers, moving to leave kisses down the center of her chest, humming encouragingly when she arched into his touch again.

Aqua's hands found the sides of his helm, clutching the finials tightly as she had earlier, though this time she used her grip to guide his mouth to where she wanted it to go. Rodimus' engine gave an excited rev, and he happily followed her lead, allowing her to direct him as she pleased.

His face was pressed into the top of one breast, where he eagerly licked and kissed as much skin as he could reach. Rodimus flattened his glossa to leave a wet stripe across her nipple, drawing a surprised cry from Aqua that went straight to his interface equipment.

The panels practically flew open, and Rodimus felt energon rush to his faceplates when he realized just how worked up he had gotten. He ignored his aching equipment as best as he could, focusing his attention on drawing more wonderful sounds out of Aqua instead.

It wasn't all that hard, really - a few more licks and nuzzles and she was pressing into his mouth with a moan, her fingers trembling where they were hooked in his helm. He lavished the area with attention until she hissed, pushing his face away from her heaving chest.

"Too much?" he asked, moving his hands to rest on her sides.

She nodded, loosening her grip on his helm to smooth over his cheeks. "Yeah, sorry. I'm a little sensitive there," she replied breathlessly. "Felt really nice, though."

"Nothing to apologize for, I get it," Rodimus replied.

As she caught her breath, he smoothed one servo along her abs, admiring the way they twitched under his touch. He leaned down to lay a soft kiss right above her belly button, drawing a giggle from her.

"Hey... Rodimus?" she asked after a moment, drawing his attention. "Was that your, umm, _equipment_ I heard?"

It was Rodimus' turn to blush. "I, well. Yes," he admitted bashfully, his optic darting away from her. "Don't you worry about that, though."

She tugged on his chin until he looked at her again, and his flush intensified at the warmth in her eyes. "Before we're, y'know, finished, can I..." she paused, biting her lip, "can I see it?"

Rodimus' vents hitched in surprise at the soft request, and he nodded. "Yeah, sure. I mean, if you really want to --"

"I do!" she said with a nod. "If _you_ want to, that is."

"Sure," he agreed easily. "But I'm taking care of you first, alright?"

Aqua huffed, opening and closing her mouth a few times and looking at everything except him. "Okay," she said after a moment.

Rodimus crawled down further until he was nestled between her legs. He rested one servo on her thigh while the other smoothed down her stomach, and he took a moment to look at what he was working with.

It was fairly similar to a Cybertronian's valve, oddly enough - though instead of bright, pulsing biolights, Aqua was adorned with neatly trimmed hair, dewy with the evidence of her arousal. The intoxicating scent from earlier was much more potent now, almost smothering him, and it was quite the challenge to not just dive in and taste her.

"You ready?" he asked, glancing up at her from between her thighs.

She rested on her elbows, looking down at him nervously. "I think so."

Rodimus' smile softened, and he reached up to squeeze her hand reassuringly. "I'll start with my hand and go really slow, okay? If you want me to stop, just say the word and I will."

Aqua nodded, taking a deep breath. "Alright," she agreed.

With that, Rodimus released her hand, moving to stroke between her legs. He started off slow, gently rubbing little circles along her vulva, letting her to get used to the feeling of being touched there before he continued. Her thighs began to tremble on either side of him, so he allowed his fingertips to dip carefully between her folds, drawing a soft gasp from her. He couldn't hold back a groan as his digits moved through the sticky fluids - Primus, she was so _wet_ already, and he'd only just started!

Glancing up, he saw that she was watching him with parted lips and soft, hooded eyes. He grinned up at her, extracting his fingers to pop them into his mouth, shuttering his optic and giving a soft hum as he savored the taste of her.

"Well, you taste as wonderful as you smell. I can't say I'm all that surprised," he declared, his smile growing when her eyes widened and her hands shot up to cover her reddening face.

" _Rodimus_ ," she whined. "That's... I..." she shook her head, not knowing how to respond.

With a soft laugh, Rodimus reached up to pry one of her hands away from her face, bringing it to rest on top of his head. "Sorry," he told her. "I didn't mean to embarrass you, but it's true."

Her fingers ran along his finials, and he watched as her other hand moved to the other side of his helm. "If you say so."

"I do," he said, his servo returning to stroke her again. "I can't wait to really get you going so I can taste even more..."

He looked up at her, watching her with a fond smile as he curled his fingers into the warm wetness once more, daring to dip them a little further so he could gently tease along her entrance. His thumb sought out her clit, and he knew he found it when she gasped, her fingers clutching his head.

He thumbed the tiny nub carefully as his other digits teased around her entrance, though he didn't try to push in just yet. With a moan, she pressed further into his touch, angling her hips to get the pressure and friction that she wanted.

Rodimus figured he could watch her writhe against his servos for hours. As much as he wanted to fully interface with her, he decided he would be perfectly content if they never moved past this stage. Seeing her eyes squeezed tightly shut, rolling her hips eagerly against his digits with soft, breathless sounds, clearly getting something out of his touch and enjoying herself - it was wonderful.

He felt as though his frame was being smothered with heat as he watched her move, and he realized belatedly that he was so caught up in the sights and sounds of her that he had forgotten to vent for a few minutes. Thankfully, it only took a couple of deep gulps of air to help his fans bring his internal temperature down some.

"Rodimus," she said, her shaky voice drawing him out of his thoughts. "Can you, ummm...?" Her hands were gripping his helm tightly enough to make her fingers tremble, and she opened her eyes to peek down at him.

"Can I what?" he asked softly, slowing his fingers down.

She bit her lip, glancing at him shyly and pulling on his helm. "Can you... use your mouth?"

Rodimus leaned forward, leaving a tiny kiss on her stomach. "Of course I can, babe. Whatever you want," he said.

With that, he eagerly tucked his face between her thighs, carefully extracting his fingers so he could hold her thighs apart. She gave a heated whimper at the loss of contact, but Rodimus didn't waste any more time, wrapping his lips around her clit and lapping at it with his glossa.

Aqua let loose a strut-melting cry, and Rodimus' vents hitched, heat pouring off of his frame as he worked her over with is mouth. He was absolutely soaked between his own thighs, his spike and valve both throbbing in time with the frantic churning of his spark, and he wanted desperately to reach down and alleviate some of the pressure.

More than that, though, he wanted to focus on Aqua, so he settled on pressing his spike into the soft sheets below, a sharp groan escaping his intake at the almost teasing friction. The sound must have reverberated against Aqua, as she tugged on his helm, all but shoving his face against her and effectively distracting him from his own arousal.

He groaned again, angling his head so he could nose at her clit and, more importantly, mouth eagerly at her vulva. His glossa dipped between her folds, pressing against her tight entrance, and another wave of heat rushed to his interface equipment when he felt her flutter beneath his tongue.

" _Rodimus_ , please," Aqua whined, the sound of his name on her lips drawing out a full-frame shudder. Rodimus turned his gaze up toward her to find her watching him, her brows pinched and her mouth hanging open as she panted.

He moaned at the sight, shuttering his optic so he could better focus on the task at hand. She seemed to be getting close, and he wanted to taste her release so badly, so he needed to get a move on.

Rodimus pressed his glossa against her a little harder, the tip of it breaching past the tight entrance. He moved one servo from her thigh to thumb over her nub as he pushed his tongue a little harder, wiggling against the clenching, wet heat.

It was probably for the best that Rodimus wasn't human, that he didn't really need to breathe: when it came to interfacing, such things were put on the back burner in his processor. Especially now, when he was so concentrated on Aqua, enjoying the taste of her, the feeling of her body clutching at him, trying desperately to pull his glossa deeper. 

Things like breathing could wait.

He didn't get to savor it for too much longer - before he knew it, Aqua's hands squeezed his helm tight enough to make the metal creak, coming undone with a hoarse shout. Rodimus moaned in surprise, slowing his mouth and thumb in an attempt to draw the sensation out. Her whole body trembled, fluttering around his mouth, and he was rewarded with a rush of that warm, tangy fluid that he was more than happy to lap up.

The clenching of her body started to slow, and Rodimus reluctantly pulled away. After wiping some of the stickiness from his mouth, he leaned back, moving onto his hands and knees so he could crawl over her and pull her into a heated kiss.

Her body was slick with sweat where he held her, and she moved her lips messily against his. He smiled against her mouth, pulling back to leave little kisses all over her face.

"Was that okay? Did you enjoy it?" he asked.

She gave a soft laugh, nodding. "Oh, yeah. It felt really good," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Thank you."

Rodimus gazed fondly at her, and he couldn't help the warm, happy smile that rose to his face. "Good," he replied softly. "I enjoyed it too. You were so gorgeous, Aqua, so perfect. Thank you for letting me do that."

Aqua gave him a wobbly smile of her own and ran her hands down his chassis, the touch lighting up his circuits. She sucked in a surprised breath, her smile faltering after a moment.

"Rodimus... you're running really hot, are you okay?" she asked.

He nodded, chuckling quietly despite the heat rushing to his face. "I'm fine, don't worry. Just a little, umm, worked up," he admitted with a touch of embarrassment. He hadn't realized that his fans were still running on full-blast, trying desperately to cool his frame off.

She quirked a brow at him, pushing on his chest until he was more or less sitting up. She quickly followed him, straddling his lap as soon as the space was available. Her body pressed against his frame, pinning his spike between them, and he gasped at the feeling, his optic shuttering.

"Need any help taking care of that?" she asked playfully, leaving soft kisses along his jaw.

He gave a full-frame shudder, his arms wrapping around her as he struggled to keep his thoughts straight. "Well... you don't have to, it's okay..."

"Maybe I want to," she murmured into the metal of his neck, moving one of her hands to stroke along the base of his spoiler, sending warm tingles up his struts. "What do _you_ want?"

Rodimus pressed into her touch, moaning softly as heat rushed through his frame. "You can, umm, touch me, if you want to, or I can take care of it," he said. "No matter who does what, I won't last very long."

She gave a quiet giggle at that. "I'd be happy to help, but you'll need to show me what to do," she said, pulling away from him and running her free hand down his stomach, tickling over the biolights that adorned his sides.

"Hmmm... okay," he said breathlessly, onlining his optic so he could look at her. She was gazing affectionately at him, giving him a soft, knowing smile that made even more lubricant ooze from his valve.

"My spoiler is very sensitive, so you're on the right track with that," he told her.

She moved her hand firmly along the edge of it, slowly mapping out the smooth metal and sending tiny bolts of pleasure through Rodimus' frame. He arched into her touch with a soft cry, the spoiler trembling beneath her fingers.

Her other hand moved from his side to wander between his legs, pausing when it reached the base of his spike. "Where do you want me?" she asked against his audial.

Rodimus shivered, carefully picking up her hand and wrapping it around his spike. As much as he would have loved for her to feel how soaked his valve was, to know just how turned on he really was, he also understood that she might not really be into that. Maybe he could ask about it some other time.

"Well, this will be the easiest," he mumbled, covering her hand with his own before moving their joined hands along his erection.

"Hmmm, alright then," she said, her soft, warm hand moving oh so wonderfully against him. "I'm gonna need a full demonstration next time, though. No shortcuts."

Rodimus' face flushed, and he whined at the her words, wanting nothing more than to give her a full demonstration _now_ despite how rapidly his overload was approaching. His hand trembled against hers, and she took over with ease, stroking him as though she'd done it a thousand times.

His hips twitched on their own accord, jostling her little bit, so he did his best to hold still. His optic shuttered once more as he focused on the charge racing through his frame, feeding in from his lap and his spoiler. 

"Oh, look at you," Aqua whispered, kissing him on the cheek, right under his shorted-out optic. "You go on and on about how pretty I am, but you're absolutely stunning." She laid another kiss on the corner of his mouth, giving an experimental twist of her wrist.

Rodimus cried out at the words and the change in her grip, beyond words at this point. She did it again, rubbing a thumb along the tip of his spike when she reached it, making his engine roar and the knot in the pit of his tank tighten further.

"And the _sounds_ you make? Good lord Rodimus, now that I've heard you like this, I never want to stop touching you --"

Rodimus overloaded with a whimper, pulling Aqua close and burying his face into her neck. She stroked him through it and whispered sweet, loving words into the top of his helm, practically smothering him in affection until the last of his charge had seeped from his frame. 

He flopped onto his back once he was finished, huffing with contentment and allowing his panels to close again. Aqua followed him down, leaving soft kisses all over his face as his fans continued to try and cool his frame off.

They held each other quietly for a long moment, gazing deeply into each other's eyes. Rodimus wanted nothing more than to rush to the washracks and scrub the stickiness from between his legs, and he was sure Aqua wanted a chance to clean up too, but he was content with laying here for a little while longer - at least until he was sure he could walk without his knee joints giving out.

He ran his servos along her spine, smiling up at her warmly. She returned his smile, leaning down to kiss him softly, sweetly, and he sighed at the delighted twist of his spark.

"I love you," she said when she pulled away, reaching up to cup his cheeks.

Rodimus leaned forward, bumping their noses together. "And I love you, Aqua," he replied, his voice sticky and laced with static. 

The sound of it made Aqua grin, and she laid her head on his chassis. He felt her fingertips ghosting along his armor, idly tracing random, intricate shapes into the metal. 

They enjoyed the calm, peaceful quiet until Aqua wiggled a bit, letting out a soft hiss at the way her skin stuck to his plating. Rodimus winced, sitting them both up so they could sort out the tangle of limbs.

"Sorry," Rodimus mumbled. "This stuff gets tacky in like, no time at all. It's kind of a pain in the ass."

Aqua smiled at him, shaking her head as she pulled away. "It's fine, really - I kind of needed to take a bath anyway."

"Yeah, me too." Rodimus agreed. Heat rushed to his cheeks when he caught sight of the various fluids on his frame as well as the covers around them - he sure made a mess, didn't he? 

"Looks like we kind of need to do some laundry, too," he said, gesturing to a large fuchsia stain behind Aqua. She turned to look at it, her eyes widening with surprise.

Rodimus didn't know if it was the sight of the stain itself or what he'd said, but something brought out a bright, full-belly laugh from Aqua. Sure, she giggled a lot, but loud laughs like this were much more rare for her, and Rodimus couldn't help but laugh right along with her. 

After they sobered up a little, they crawled off of the bed, tugging the stained covers off of the bed with soft giggles and wide, giddy smiles on their faces. The dirty sheets were deposited on the floor to deal with at another time, and Aqua walked up to Rodimus with a small, shy smile.

"Well, I'm gonna take a bath," she told him. She stood on her tip toes, bracing her weight on his arms to leave a kiss on the center of his forehead, right between his bright finials. "I don't know if you, umm, want to do anything afterward, but..."

Rodimus placed his servos on her waist, his spark thrumming warmly as he gazed into her eyes. "I'm not about to leave you here, in a room with a bed that has no covers," he said. "I'm gonna clean up too, but when you're done, you're more than welcome to come sit with me, okay? I've got just the place for you to sit." He reached up to thump the top of his chassis with one servo, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

Aqua giggled again, giving him a small nod. "Sure, that sounds like the perfect spot to me. See you in a little bit, then," she said, leaving a soft kiss on his mouth before pulling away to head over to the bathroom.

Rodimus wouldn't lie - he absolutely watched Aqua walk away, admiring the soft curve of her backside with a light flush on his faceplates. It was at that moment that he realized he hadn't touched it, hadn't even looked at it until now, and he shook his helm at his own foolishness. He supposed he had been a little occupied, but still...

_Maybe next time_ , he thought as he re-activated the mass displacement code, heading toward his own washracks with a grin.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things get NSFW in this chapter, but it isn't anything super explicit. Please note that the author who wrote this chapter is still pretty new to writing out suggestive things like this.
> 
> Anyway, mistakes are made and accidents happen.......... but it all works out.

Aqua didn’t know why she was so enthralled with Rodimus’ spark. She understood that she found it to be beautiful - because it was just that: stunningly beautiful - and she enjoyed looking at it. Being close to it, touching it, was another matter entirely. She had initially written it off as curiosity the first time Rodimus had given her permission to do so before she knew the effect it had on him. Afterward, however, she still felt very drawn towards it, almost longed to let its tendrils run over her.

It was strange, for while the spark felt warm and soft, it was more akin to having a warm blanket wrapped around her hand than anything arousing. To long for such a sensation the way she had seemed strange to her. The only real explanation she could think of was that she enjoyed the reactions it got out of Rodimus when she did touch it.

The sight was truly one to behold. His face in the throes of passion made the loveliest of pictures, as his fans blasted at high speeds and his engine revved. She could admit she would never tire of seeing him in such a state.

But... as much sense as that made, her wanting to please her boyfriend, Aqua knew that on a deeper level there was something more to it than that. Something far more selfish, something she could not describe. It was as though something deep within her heart wished to touch that spark and it would not rest until she did so just right.

Even though they had experimented some in the various ways they could pleasure each other, Aqua always felt herself falling back to playing with Rodimus’ spark. He, admittedly, was fairly confused by this, as the act did nothing for her, but he never complained. He would just smile warmly as he scooped her up in his hands and opened his chest, spark eagerly reaching towards her before she was even really anywhere near close.

It was a mystery, to be sure, but one Aqua was content to leave be. It was, at the very least, not a hindrance to their relationship, for which Aqua was grateful.

* * *

The mystery, however, did not care about who was content with what, as it quickly made itself known one evening on the Lost Light. It was one of the rare times the Lost Light had visited a world she was already on, and she and Rodimus had decided to take advantage of the time together they were unexpectedly given.

A nice dinner and walk through the local town filled their evening, and that night Aqua stayed with Rodimus in his cabin, a selection of movies queued up for them to pull from. But as Aqua had settled in his hand again, held so close to his chest, the longing in her heart returned in full force and she found herself shyly asking if she could once again touch his spark.

“You really seem to like this,” Rodimus muttered, a light smile on his lips as he settled back and opened up his chestplates.

“Of course,” she responded as Rodimus moved his hand close to his spark, “your spark is just too gorgeous.”

Aqua sighed in contentment as she placed her hand at the edge of the container that covered his spark, the substance within pushing against the surface in an attempt to reach her. Aqua eagerly moved towards the very edge of Rodimus’ palm, her other hand moving forward to reach inside his spark, only for the spark to meet her halfway.

By now, Aqua was fairly familiar with the procedure and proceeded to move her hand in just the right way that made Rodimus moan and his engine to rev so loudly it nearly gave her a headache. She looked up at his face, his eyes shut tight, mouth agape as he heaved for breaths, and her heart skipped a beat.

“So beautiful,” Aqua murmured, smiling softly at him as she twisted her hand just so, causing another loud rev of his engine.

Things were going well, with Rodimus close to reaching the end - his fans were on full blast, his interface panels already retracted, his voice overlaid with so much static it was near indecipherable... The fact that Aqua could now read such tells for his overload made her equal parts flushed and proud, her love for the robot swelling in her chest.

And then it all went horribly, horribly wrong.

Aqua was used to Rodimus’ spark insistently tugging at her as if trying to bring her even closer to it. She had felt the sensation before, and usually, it was no stronger than a gentle breeze pushing against her. But as Aqua stared up at Rodimus’ face, wishing to see his expression as he fell over the edge, his spark suddenly surged forward with such strength she had never felt before. It tugged at her roughly - or, well, roughly for it, for the sensation was more akin to a strong gust of wind than anything. However, it was enough to catch Aqua off guard and make her lose her footing at the edge of Rodimus’ palm.

Aqua slipped.

She gave a startled shout as her body shot forward, feet quickly sliding off Rodimus’ hand onto the palm of his other as he quickly reached up to grab her. The hand on his spark chamber pressed harshly against the smooth surface in an attempt to keep her balance, while the hand that was inside his spark -

Her arm shot forward, jamming itself right into the center of his spark. Rodimus let out a shout of pain, the hand beneath her trembling and pushing Aqua closer to his spark as his instinct to guard it from pain muddled his movements.

“Oh god!” Aqua cried, trying to keep herself as still as possible, her face mere inches away from his spark. She could feel the tendrils of light reach forward and lightly brush against her cheek and chest, and Aqua turned her head away when she noticed it rippled against her breath. “Rodimus, I’m so sorry! I slipped, I didn’t mean to hurt you! Are you-“

“I’m fine,” Rodimus gritted out, his voice still laced with static but much clearer than it had been before. “Just, stay still a moment. I’ll be alright. You ok?”

She nodded before realizing that, with her whole body basically buried in his chest, Rodimus likely couldn’t see her. “I’m ok,” Aqua answered, “you caught me before I even fell.”

The tendrils on her face moved downward, brushing against her neck curiously. The sensation was so light and feathery that it sent tingles up her spine. Aqua glanced down towards her chest where more of the spark touched her, the tendrils seeming to move to focus on the center of her chest, right over her heart.

Aqua furrowed her brow at the strange sight, curious as to why his spark could be drawn there. She watched as it pressed against her chest, the pressure of its presence barely even noticeable until -

Aqua gasped as a white-hot sensation suddenly washed over her, causing her face to instantly flush. Her whole body suddenly felt unreasonably warm, her clothes now seemed too restrictive and tight, and a familiar ache began to quickly form between her legs. Aqua bit back whatever noise that wanted to push its way up her throat, as she pressed her thighs together in the hopes to alleviate some of the sudden... discomfort she was experiencing.

So caught up in the sudden heat, she almost missed a dull pain the seemed to throb in her chest, one that felt faded like an old bruise. She couldn’t focus on it for too long, however, as it was a weak ache being drowned out by a much more... overwhelming one.

Her arm in Rodimus’ spark trembled as she resisted the urge to jerk herself away from it, eager to make the sensation stop. To do so would hurt Rodimus in the most heinous way, though, so Aqua forced herself to keep as still as she possibly could. All the while, more of his spark pressed against her chest, increasing the intensity of everything she felt.

“R-Rodimus?” she forced out with a gasp, chest heaving as she found herself struggling to breathe while fighting against her sudden inexplicable arousal. “Is it okay for me to move?”

There was a long moment of silence, long enough for her to wonder if he had even heard her, before he finally spoke. During that time, Aqua felt a vague notion of... curiosity? Though it didn’t feel like her own, the sensation distant and comparable to the dull ache she had felt before.

When he, at last, did speak, his voice was gravelly, filled with static, and far deeper than it typically was. “Yeah,” he answered, and she felt him shift beneath her, and... that felt weird too, different than what she usually felt when he moved while holding her. It was all too much, for every new, odd thing about the situation just added to her anxiety and eagerness to move away from his spark. That said, the area around her chest where his spark pressed into her felt rather... pleasant. Her heart felt... well she couldn’t describe it even if her brain wasn’t all fogged up and preoccupied. “You can move, just... slowly, please.”

“Of course,” came her instant response, her voice sounding far too breathless for her liking. “I don’t want to hurt you more than I already have!” Aqua began to slowly pull her arm out, only to stop when she felt a wave of pleasure wash over her that made her bite back a moan and heavily rest her head in the arm acting as her anchor. Rodimus shuddered beneath her, engine giving a low hum.

“Ah, a bit... slower, please,” he murmured above her, and something about his tone made her stomach twist in a not-unpleasant way.

Aqua nodded, taking in a few deep breaths through her nose. “Sorry,” she told him once she felt her voice was steady enough, lifting her head to get back to the task at hand.

She once again tried to extract her arm, moving slower than before. Again, she was hit with another wave, but it was nowhere near as intense as before. Aqua did her best to ignore it through the long, almost agonizing process of removing her arm from Rodimus’ spark, and for the most part, she succeeded. She had to pause every now and then when the trembling in Rodimus' hand became more obvious and her head began to spin as it became a bit too much. Eventually, though, her arm was free, and both she and Rodimus sighed with relief.

Aqua placed her now freed hand on the other side of Rodimus’ spark chamber to help anchor herself more as she slowly pushed herself back. She watched as the tendrils pressed against her chest followed her as if it didn’t want to let go. Her heart seemed rather content as well, a pleasant warmth radiating from it that she could somehow feel through the thick cloud of arousal. Aqua almost felt bad for separating the two, but... she had no clue what was happening. She was overwhelmed and uncomfortable and everything about _how_ his spark and her heart got connected was wrong.

She pushed herself further away from his spark, still moving slowly so as to not risk any more injury to Rodimus or herself. As the distance between her chest and his spark grew, the tendrils slowly gave up their hold and withdrew back with the rest of it. Aqua felt her mind begin to clear more and more with each bit that disconnected from her, and she heaved another sigh of relief as the connection finally broke.

Aqua fell into a sit on Rodimus’ hand, legs too weak to keep herself upright on their own any longer. While the overwhelming fog had vanished, she found her body was still affected by the experience, her own arousal lingering behind. Her chest still heaved as she struggled for breath, her face was still hotter than she had felt in a while, her underwear was far too wet to be comfortable or properly ignored, while the ache between her legs still throbbed, and her heart...

She weakly brought one hand up to her chest, pressing it against the area where Rodimus' spark had been. Her heart was... humming, almost, as it seemed to still reach out towards Rodimus. It wasn’t an entirely unfamiliar sensation, as it felt similar to when she summoned her keyblade or used magic. In those situations, though, it lasted for a few seconds at best, while this lingered.

Aqua furrowed her brow as she rubbed her chest, mind scrambling to make sense of everything that just happened. So caught up was she in her thoughts, she didn’t even notice Rodimus closing his chestplates or him lifting his hand up so she was more at level with his face.

“You okay?” he asked, startling her. Aqua jumped a bit, hand pressing harder to her chest as her heart pounded. The moment soon passed, however, as she looked up to meet Rodimus’ concerned gaze.

Though she settled down, her heart continued to hum, and she found herself unconsciously rubbing her chest as she answered with a nod. “I should be asking you that,” she told him, frowning as guilt tugged at her. “I wasn’t careful enough and I hurt you.”

“Nah, I’m fine,” came his instant response. His voices sounded almost normal again, she noted. Still gravelly, but not nearly as much as it has been before. “Yeah, it hurt for a bit, but that faded pretty quickly. You, however, almost fell to your death.” He gave her side a light poke, which made her squirm a bit, before he brought his face in closer, frowning deeply as he examined her. “You also look.... distressed.”

Aqua couldn’t stop herself from snorting at his word choice. They were both well aware as to what she looked like. She did, however, appreciate the fact that he didn’t outright say, “You look really horny,” because she was sure she would die on the spot.

“I’m fine,” she told him with a dismissive wave of her free hand. “I just... something happened in there when I fell.”

This did little to dissuade his worry - if anything, it amplified it, as Rodimus brought her up even closer to his face. “What?! What happened? Are you-“

“I’m alright! I promise!” she all but shouted, her one free hand raised in an attempt to placate him. Aqua couldn’t find it in her willpower to pull her one hand away from her chest, not while her heart continued to hum weirdly within. “Just... when my arm was in your spark, a part of it reached out for my chest.” Her hand pressed just a bit harder against the spot. “I think... It was trying to touch my heart?”

“WHAT?!” Rodimus shouted almost instantly, and Aqua winced at the sudden volume.

She hesitantly nodded, confused by his extreme reaction. “Yeah, it. It was trying to get to my heart,” she repeated.

She soon regretted it for it only caused Rodimus’ panic to skyrocket. “Ok! Ok! So... my spark tried to kill you!” His voice sounded almost hysteric as he shouted, face twisted in panic. “Why else would it try to reach your blood pumping organ? Even if it didn’t want to kill you, that’s way too dangerous! No more spark stuff from now on-”

Panic shot through Aqua at his words, her heart lunging forward towards his spark. “No!” she found herself shouting, cutting Rodimus off mid-sentence. Rodimus looked down at her in shock, though she could see the panic that still resided just behind his eyes. She couldn’t blame him for his shock, for she too was honestly surprised at how strong her reaction was, but... “Rodimus, you weren’t trying to kill me! I wasn’t talking about _that_ heart!”

He did nothing but blink at her several times as he processed her words, his face scrunching up in confusion once he did. “You have... two hearts?”

Aqua shrugged helplessly. “Kind of? There’s our organ, which does the blood pumping like you said, and then there’s the... spiritual one?” She floundered for a moment as she thought how she could explain it. Everyone she discussed hearts with before had one, so she was at a loss to how to explain it to someone with no prior knowledge. “It’s... tied to our magic. And our memories. It’s kind of like... our soul? I guess? Although I think it’s actually separate from our souls.... but, it’s. It’s part of what makes us... us.”

She was sure someone like her old master or even Ansem the Wise could give a far more elegant answer, and she mentally kicked herself at not having prepared for such an explanation. Rodimus was an alien from a completely separate world from her own, with completely different anatomy. If she got to learn more about his spark, then he deserved to learn about her heart.

(She made a mental note to look through Ansem’s notes on hearts to find a better way to explain it and her soul and mind and all of that later on.)

Rodimus hummed after her explanation, contemplating her words. “So... it’s like a spark?” he asked after a moment, and Aqua thought over what she knew about them.

“I guess so. Something close enough, at least.” She watched as he huffed out a sigh and leaned back against the wall behind him with a light thud. He looked thoughtful as he took it all in, his earlier panic finally melting away.

“Huh.” Rodimus glanced down towards her, and his brow furrowed when he caught sight of her hand on her chest still. “You sure you weren’t hurt when it happened? You’ve been rubbing that spot for a while now.”

“Oh!” Aqua looked down at her hand but still kept it there. “No, I wasn’t hurt, my heart is just... restless. Has been since I moved away from your spark.” She heard him let out a low hum, and from the corner of her eye, she noticed his other hand reaching up to press against his own chest. 

Was his spark restless too?

It was her turn to frown as she turned back up towards him. “Listen, Rodimus, while your spark was touching my heart, I... felt things.”

He lifted a brow. “Things?” She really did _not_ appreciate his suggestive tone.

Aqua shifted uncomfortably, face flushing red as earlier discomfort reared its head to remind her that she was still... well... “Things like... I.” She finally removed her hand from her chest in order to use both hands to vaguely gesture towards herself.

Luckily, Rodimus caught on, so she didn’t need to explain it further. “Huh. Y’know... I thought something had... changed for a while there,” he said, and her eyes were drawn to the hand pressing against his chest. “I couldn’t really tell what it was or what caused it, though.”

“What... what was that?” Aqua asked, switching her position so she was sitting on her legs, hands clenching tightly to the fabric of her pants around her knees.

“Well... you know how touching my spark can like... get me off, right?” Aqua gave Rodimus an unamused look, to which he responded with a sheepish smile. “Right,” he continued on, “well, my kind... we supposedly can also merge our sparks together to... get each other off.”

Aqua squeezed the fabric bunched in her hands tighter, an unexpected thrill of... something rushing down her spine. “So it’s... it’s another way your kind can... make love?”

Rodimus let out a small huff of a laugh, the hand on his chest moving up to cup one of his cheeks as he smiled softly down at her. “Yeah, I guess you could say that. I... it’s not something we can usually do with any other species because our sparks are so... unique to us, I guess? I thought you playing with my spark was as close as we could get.” He then brought her up close to his face, gently nudging her with his cheek. Aqua reacted instantly, hands letting go of her pants to plant themselves on his cheek as she hugged him. “I guess we’re a bit more compatible than I thought?”

Aqua sighed, pressing her face into Rodimus’ cheek as much as she could, shifting her legs beneath her to relieve some of the uncomfortable throbbing of her core. “I... do you want to try again, then?”

“Hmm... Probably not tonight,” he answered. “I... want to do more research, to make sure it’s safe. And besides, I doubt either of us would last that long anyway.”

“Ok,” Aqua answered with a firm nod. She would always respect his wishes in this regard, just as he respected her own. She placed a soft, reassuring kiss on his cheek before letting out a soft, frustrated groan. “Could you at least shrink down so I can kiss you properly?”

He let out a bark of a laugh. “Now that? That I can definitely do. Hold on.”

Rodimus pulled her away and set her down on his bed beside him, and she watched eagerly as he began the process of mass displacement, shrinking down to around her height. He could never get it quite right, always either a few inches too tall or a few inches too short, but so long as he was close enough to her size for her to cling on to him, she didn’t care.

She rushed forward once the process was done and he was standing on the bed before her, almost tackling him in a fierce hug. His arms instantly wrapped around her waist, hers going around his neck, as they pressed as close to the other as they could. Aqua hummed in contentment as her heart finally settled down with Rodimus’ chest digging almost painfully into her own. She paid his sharp edges little mind, paid the feeling of his spike digging into her... a little more mind, but her main focus was instead on pressing her mouth against his in what she was sure would be a bruising kiss. Rodimus didn’t seem to mind though, moving against her just as enthusiastically.

“I love you,” Aqua gasped when they broke apart.

Rodimus' engine gave a little rev, his fans clicking on a bit faster, as he pulled her in closer. “I love you too,” he told her, voice gentle and soft.

Aqua’s heart lunged forward again, reaching desperately for him. She was eager to see how a proper merge between the two would turn out, but... even if that didn’t work, she was content. He loved her, and that was more than she could ever ask for.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aqua seeks to learn as much as she can about spark merges and discovers that Cybertronian bonding involves more than just touching two sparks. 
> 
> This chapter is SFW for now with suggestive themes (obviously).

Because they were dating each other's best friend, Drift and Aqua saw each other quite a bit. Whenever the two couples met up, whether in a larger group at a party or during a double date, the four of them mingled pretty well. Aqua and Drift were lucky to have plenty of things in common beyond their significant others, and this allowed a fairly solid friendship to blossom between them, for which Aqua was thankful.

She was particularly thankful for their closeness today - she was on the hunt for answers on spark bonding, and she trusted very few with the questions she wanted to ask. Rodimus didn't seem to know anything after she fell headfirst into his spark chamber last weekend, and Terra could only really provide information from his perspective - which _was_ helpful, even if the conversation itself was incredibly awkward.

Drift seemed only somewhat surprised when Aqua reached out to him - apparently he'd already talked to Rodimus after the incident occured. He agreed to meet with her in secret today to help her learn about Cybertronian spark bonds (and, in turn, she promised to help teach him about human marriage proposals), which is how she found herself sitting in Drift's palm in his sparsely decorated habsuite.

"Can I get you anything?" Drift asked as he settled onto his berth. "I mostly have snacks that Terra likes, but I can get you water or something if you want...?"

Aqua shook her head, but sent a grateful smile Drift's way. "Oh, no thank you. I don't wanna dwell on this for too long and make you any more uncomfortable than I have to."

Drift snorted. "Now, don't worry about that. I'm not nearly as bashful as Terra or Rodimus - this is just a conversation between friends," he assured her. "And I want to help, okay? You can ask me anything."

"I appreciate that," Aqua said, making herself comfortable on his servo before glancing down into her lap. "I just... would appreciate a little guidance. What happened was scary for me, of course, but... the thought of hurting Rodimus again..."

Aqua swallowed around the lump in her throat, forcing herself to calm down. This was neither the time or the place to panic about such a thing - she'd already apologized profusely and was doing everything she could to avoid hurting him in the future.

Drift hummed, thinking over his response for a long moment. "I understand. And I'm sure that Rodimus does too. All you can do going forward is stop altogether or be safer, right?"

"Right," Aqua agreed. "I would definitely prefer to find a safer way." She did her best to fight down the heat that rose to her cheeks at the admission.

Luckily, Drift didn't tease her about it - it seemed he wasn't even considering it, if the rather serious look on his face was anything to go by. "Nothing wrong with that," he told her with a shrug. "But, hmm... I guess I'll start off with the same thing I told Rodimus - you need to wait until you're the same size. Though I'm sure _you're_ more aware of why than he was."

Aqua nodded. "Yeah. That was one of the few pieces of information I was able to pry out of Terra too," she said, smiling when she heard a light laugh bubble out of Drift. "But, yes, I definitely figured that out when I... you know... fell in."

"Alright, I figured as much. I think remembering to do that will eliminate a lot of potential issues," Drift said with a nod. "And, I... also would suggest that you don't try to pull away from the bond, especially once things have been established," he said with a wince, his free servo balling up into a fist. "'Cause it uh... really, _really_ hurts."

Aqua's eyes widened, her hand moving to rest over her heart on instinct. It hadn't really hurt when she and Rodimus seperated before, so she was admittedly taken aback by this information. "What do you mean by... established? How do I know when it's too late to move?"

"I would just say 'you'll know', because you will, but... That's not very helpful, is it?" Drift said. He hummed and tapped his chin with his forefinger, considering his response for a long moment. "There is definitely a point of no return. A point where you're... so fully submerged in the bond, in... each other? I guess it would be once you start... feeling things. From Rodimus."

 _Feeling things_... Yeah, Aqua remembered that part quite well. She blinked a few times, shaking her head and doing her best to fight down the memory for now. "Like... physical things?" she asked, just to be sure they were on the same page.

Drift nodded. "Sometimes, yeah. Other times it's more... what he would be feeling in his spark. Like, emotional? Kind of, um, depends on what's happening," he explained with a polite smile.

"Gotcha," Aqua said, feeling better for asking for the clarification. An awkward pause settled between the two of them, so Aqua cleared her throat, doing her best to push onward and get this conversation over with. "Is there, umm... anything else I should know?"

Drift took his time to really think about it, leaving Aqua to wait patiently for him to respond. "Well, it's very easy for things to become overwhelming, so try to go slow if you can. And once you're, erm, done, he might undergo a hard reboot. He will probably look offlined, but as long as you can still see or feel his spark he will eventually come back," he said, brows furrowing as he thought over it some more.

He eventually let out a soft sigh, fixing her with a stern look. "And... there is one more thing. Something that I'm sure you will have no problem with, but it's... probably the most important of all."

Aqua's eyes widened once more, realizing whatever was coming next was somehow more serious than the other things Drift had already mentioned. "Yes, of course. What is it?"

"Talk to Rodimus," Drift said, his tone much gentler now. "And... be patient with him on this. It took me years to get him to trust me enough to complete our amica ceremony, and all we needed to do for that was show our sparks to each other. No touching or anything, so... I know for sure he trusts you with his spark, but, he might just need more time."

" _Years?_ " Aqua breathed, brows raising in surprise. She wondered briefly if she could actually wait that long, but the thought was quickly dismissed - of course she would. She'd wait a lifetime if she had to: his feelings on the matter were just as important to her as her own.

Drift nodded, his voice bringing Aqua back to the present. "This is very personal for our kind, as you know, but Rodimus is... especially protective of his spark. Rightfully so, considering all the things that he's been through, but... that's not for me to share with you," he said, gazing solemnly down at her. "I know you've been patient with him up to this point, so just... stay on that track. Keep being open and encourage him when you can, okay?"

"Of course," Aqua vowed with a single curt nod. "I will wait as long as I have to, though... I never intended to do otherwise."

"I know," Drift told her, lipplates curling into a smile again. "He's incredibly lucky to have someone as patient and understanding as you. Thank you, for everything you've done for him."

Warmth filled Aqua's chest as she gazed back up at Drift, unsure of what to say even if she could speak around the emotions that had welled up in her. Thankfully, Drift spared her from having to say anything at all, merely smiling wider and speaking once more.

"But, anyway, now that we've got that all sorted out... I believe we have some other plans for today, don't we?"

Aqua nodded, swallowing around the lump in her throat. She took a moment to collect herself before looking back up at Drift, sending him a wobbly smile.

"That we do," she agreed. "Let's get this marriage proposal of yours figured out. Have you thought about what kind of ring you wanna get him?"

Drift tilted his helm in obvious confusion, answering her question without uttering a single word. Aqua couldn't help but laugh, grateful to move past the somber subject and onto something a little easier for them both to talk about.

\---

It had been a couple of weeks since Aqua's conversation with Drift, and a few days more since she'd accidentally merged with Rodimus. She intended to meet up with her boyfriend before now, but thanks to their conflicting schedules, they had to postpone their weekly date to another time.

Waiting was as difficult as always. Being more or less forced to speak to Rodimus through a video chat only served to make their reunion _that_ much sweeter, though - she was so, so glad to see him again, and he seemed just as excited to see her.

He'd taken her out on a wonderful date tonight. That wasn't to say that any of their previous dates were bad, or boring, or anything of the sort; she could just tell he'd gone the extra mile tonight. He'd made sure every detail was perfect - from the beautiful world he'd chosen (which was new to both of them), to the restaurant they "stumbled upon" that just so happened to serve her favorite food and delicious chocolate cake. Even the way he'd dressed up his holoform was practically perfect, there wasn't a speck of lint on him or a single hair out of place!

Though, admittedly, their most _perfect date_ would have him sitting across from her in his true form, mass displaced and polished to perfection. But he wanted to eat dinner with her, and she didn't mind that one bit. Seeing him this way was a rarer sight for her, but just as much of a treat as his true form - no matter how he presented himself, he still managed to make her blush with that charming grin of his, still sent her heart racing with the lightest touch of his hand, and still took her breath away with the sweetest, simplest words.

He was still Rodimus, through and through.

Indeed, Aqua was having a wonderful time catching up with her partner face-to-face. Their time apart had been rather unremarkable despite how busy they both were, so the atmosphere was pretty laid-back. They didn't have any particularly pressing matters to talk about tonight... except for one thing.

One thing that had been bouncing around in the back of Aqua's mind all night, making itself more apparent as the end of their date drew near.

 _Would it be too much to ask him about his spark tonight?_ Aqua wondered, poking at the remnants of her pasta with her fork. She didn't want to spook him, or try to rush him in any way, so perhaps she should just hold off for now. They'd have plenty of opportunities in the future to sort things out, right?

But at the same time, she wanted just a chance to sit and talk with him about it. Even if he never let her see his spark again, she wanted him to know how much she loved and supported him.

"Hey, you okay?"

The sound of Rodimus' voice and the touch of his hand on hers dragged Aqua out of her internal struggle. Her eyes met his sheepishly, and she nodded, giving him a small smile.

"Yeah. I'm fine," she assured him, turning her hand over so their palms could touch. She supposed that, if she didn't say something now, she'd probably be agonizing about it all night long, hoping that Rodimus might happen to bring it up instead.

Or... she could just _go for it_. If he brushed her off, she wouldn't push it, but she didn't know how long she could handle keeping it bottled up.

"I've just had something on my mind," she continued, "and... I wanted to talk to you about it when we're alone, if that's okay?"

Rodimus searched her eyes for a moment before he glanced down at his plate, a thoughtful frown crossing his features. "I think I know what it is," he admitted, nodding his head a few times before looking back up at her. "And... I'd like to talk about it, too."

Aqua let out a sigh of relief. She sent a grateful smile his way, and was surprised to see a grin rise to his face as well. "Alright, thank you Rodimus. I appreciate that," she said, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "For now... let's get back to this lovely date you planned, shall we?"

Rodimus nodded again, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "We haven't even ordered dessert yet, babe - how can we talk about _anything_ important before dessert?"

Aqua couldn't fight back the surprised giggle that made its way out of her. Seeing him quickly go from serious to silly always threw her off a little, but in this case, she was grateful for it - dessert sounded wonderful, and she really did want to enjoy the rest of their evening.

* * *

And enjoy it, she did.

By the time they made it back to the Rodpod, Aqua supposed their date was technically over, but it sure didn't feel like it. Something about tonight just had her heart feeling so... _full_.

Rodimus had switched off his holoform by now (with a fair warning, of course) and was up and walking around, cupping Aqua carefully in his hands and chattering happily to her. It seemed that he'd enjoyed their evening as well, if his big, goofy grin as he recounted the date was anything to go by.

"And that cake, Aqua... I'm not an expert on organic food or anything, but _dang_ ," he said, letting out a happy sigh. He sat gingerly on his berth, gazing down at her. "It was beyond tasty in my book."

Aqua giggled, though she found herself in agreement. "I've had quite a few desserts in my time, and that one was delicious for sure," she said. It was unlike anything she'd had before, though she figured part of it was that there were ingredients found only on this world that made it so unique.

That, possibly combined with how Rodimus had insisted on feeding her the first bite from across the table, looking at her like she was the only thing that mattered in the universe to him while she ate it. That might have been part of it too.

Aqua's face warmed at the memory, and she found herself reaching out toward her partner's face. Rodimus lifted his hand up, giving her the opportunity to hug his cheek.

"Thank you," she told him, leaving a few kisses under his optic. "It's hard to not be with you all the time, but... you always make our time together so special."

Rodimus hummed, holding still for the most part, though she felt his face shift slightly as he grinned wider. She pulled away after a moment, and he took the opportunity to move her back a bit so he could smile down at her.

"You deserve that and more," he told her, his smile falling after a moment as he let out a sigh. He regarded her seriously, and she had an idea of how the conversation was about to shift. "Which... reminds me. We have some things we need to talk about, don't we...?"

Aqua nodded her head. "Yeah..." she said, giving him an encouraging smile. "If you want to. We can always talk tomorrow instead."

Rodimus chuckled, shaking his head. "Naw, I gotta get this out, just... Gimme one sec so we can at least hold hands while we do this," he replied, setting her on his berth as he began to mass displace.

Once he was a much more manageable size, she crawled closer to him, intertwining their fingers together. "Much better, thank you," she told him, leaning forward to kiss him on the nose. "Now, then - I want to say just one thing before we get into this."

She waited for him to nod, taking a steadying breath and pushing onward before her nerves got the best of her. "I don't want you to feel pressured to make any decisions right now, okay? Take as long as you need, 'cause this is a big deal."

Rodimus frowned a little at the words, going quiet. "Oh. Well... I appreciate that, but I've... kind of already made a decision," he admitted, giving her hands a gentle squeeze. "But now I wonder if it was the right one."

Aqua tilted her head, utterly puzzled by what his response. "What do you mean?"

Rodimus looked away for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. "I... have done my research. And now I know that merging is _safe_ , if we do it the right way," he said. "But..."

He paused, frowning again. Aqua remained quiet, merely nodding to let him know she was listening.

"I want... more than that," he said, looking up at her with worry etched in his optics. "But you're right. It's a _really_ big step, and I don't know if we're ready...? I thought we were, but now I'm not so sure."

Aqua blinked a few times, struggling to follow along with what he was saying. What could he want that was... more than the spark merge? Was there yet another way they were compatible?

"I'm afraid I don't... follow," Aqua said quietly. "What exactly is it that you want, Rodimus?"

Rodimus sighed, his perky spoiler from before now drooping with something akin to embarrassment, and Aqua couldn't fight the way her heart sank.

"I... want to bond with you, Aqua. For life," he explained softly. "Do you want to be my conjunx?"

Aqua searched his optics for a long moment, mind scrambling to comprehend his words. _Conjunx_.... that word seemed familiar, but she just couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, exactly. It had been so long since she'd last heard it, and that had been in passing conversation.

But... bonding for life... it sure sounded like a spouse. And after listening to Terra's desire to get married to Drift, shortly followed by Drift's interest in various traditions among humans, she'd admittedly been thinking about what a lifelong partnership could look like between herself and Rodimus.

In some ways, taking that step seemed _colossal_ , but at the same time, she loved him with her whole heart. It was a huge step, yes, but also one that felt... right. Her gut told her to say "yes", but she wanted to make sure they were actually on the same page, rather than just an accidental assumption on her part.

"Is that like... getting married?" she finally ventured, wanting to make completely sure she was understanding correctly.

A flash of realization crossed Rodimus' features, though it quickly morphed into a frown. "Yeah," he said, huffing out an awkward laugh. "Sorry, I... forgot you guys don't use terminology like that. A conjunx is a lifelong romantic partner."

Despite being pretty sure that was what he was getting at, Aqua's heart squeezed roughly in her chest at the blatant confirmation. It took her a moment to muster up her ability to speak, though she could barely manage to force a surprised "Oh!" past her lips.

Rodimus' optics widened as he watched her struggle to respond. Speech was evidently beyond her right now, though, so she nodded instead, blinking back the tears that had begun to well up in her eyes.

"I... yes," she croaked, trying to swallow down the tightness in her throat so she could elaborate. It did little to help, but Rodimus seemed to understand just fine.

"Oh, Aqua," he murmured, releasing her hands so he could pull her close. She buried her face against his helm, sucking in a shuddering breath when she felt his servos running up and down her back soothingly.

"Yes," she whispered again, though it was unnecessary by this point. "I want that."

"Me too, Aqua. More than anything," he replied, his own voice wavering despite his inability to cry. The sound of it made her shudder, and it was all she could do to not be overwhelmed even more.

He merely held her for a few minutes, the combination of his touch and the soft rumble of his engine doing wonders to ease her sudden rush of emotions. Once she was certain she could speak again, she heaved a sigh, leaning back so they could look at each other. Rodimus was beaming at her, and she swore his optics were glowing brighter than usual, but that might have been because her own vision was still kind of watery.

"So," she began, clearing her throat when she heard just how sticky her voice still was. "What exactly does this conjunx thing entail?"

Rodimus huffed out a laugh. "Well, I'm pretty sure we've done all the hard stuff," he said, releasing her so he could tick off each thing that had evidently happened. "The main part is known as the four acts: touch, self revelation, gift giving, and an act of devotion. Which, well..." he shrugged a shoulder. "We've done plenty of meaningful, consensual touching, and quite a bit of gift-giving. An act of devotion would be like... when you and your friends chased down the Lost Light. Or, perhaps, the fact that you stuck with me despite the, erm, challenges that arose between us..."

Aqua hummed, nodding in understanding. "If I have to be honest, I think the first time you let me see your spark counts as an act of devotion as well. Considering how private your kind is about your sparks, to outsiders and each other," she said, lips curling into a grin at the flush that rose to Rodimus' faceplates.

"Oh," he said, optics darting all over the room before settling on her face again. "Alright, yeah. I suppose that could count too."

"I certainly think it does," she said with a nod. "As for the last thing... self revelation? Hmm..."

Rodimus cleared his throat, raising a finger, and Aqua allowed him to interject. "Remember that one video chat, when you blurted out that you loved me?" he asked, grinning in return at the way Aqua's own cheeks warmed. "That was a revelation if I ever heard one."

Aqua couldn't help the surprised laugh that bubbled out of her, but she nodded. "Fair enough," she said. It was a little more literal than she had been expecting, but she had to agree that it probably counted. "I think we both revealed more than we initially thought we would when we started that video chat."

"Oh, yeah. Absolutely," Rodimus agreed warmly, gaze softening as he looked at her. He pulled their joined hands until they rested over his chassis, and Aqua leaned forward on instinct.

"All that's left to do now is... umm... merge. If you want," he continued quietly, optics softening as he looked at her. "It's not a requirement, and I would have asked you to bond even if we _couldn't_ spark merge, but... it kind of goes hand in hand with mutual trust in each other."

Aqua's own smile widened, her heart thumping eagerly in her chest at the thought of being able to try it again - properly, of course. "I want it," she told him earnestly, "We don't have to do it tonight, or anytime soon, but... I _do_ want it someday."

Rodimus breathed a sigh of relief. " Actually, I would be... okay with trying it tonight," he admitted with a grin. "But I don't wanna rush you either, babe. It's gonna be a big deal for both of us."

Aqua nodded in agreement. Despite how terrifying that first experience was, she had to admit that the brief taste she'd gotten of it had left her awfully curious. Especially now that she knew that it _could_ be perfectly safe, and was apparently rather nice when they weren't both in grave danger.

"We can certainly try it tonight. If you want," she said. "I've heard all sorts of things about it. And I know how we can be more careful this time."

Rodimus' optics widened in surprise. "Oh? Do you now?"

"Umm, yeah." Aqua snorted. "You're not the only bot who's dating a human, you know. I did my own research too."

"Ah... I should have known you would." Rodimus pouted, huffing out a sigh, but Aqua knew he wasn't truly upset when he spoke again. "I hope you managed to get more information than I did - most of what I got was awkward silence from Terra and a very loud lecture from Drift..."

"Drift was very helpful, don't worry," she assured him, leaning toward him and cupping his cheek. "We're already off to a great start, being the same size and all..."

Rodimus blinked, optics growing heavy as their faces grew nearer to each other. His gaze darted down to her mouth when she smiled wider, and she felt his cheek warming beneath her palm.

"Ah, yes. Well," he stammered, meeting her eyes once again. He licked his lips and cleared his intake, and Aqua was ready for him to lay on his irresistible charm.

"May I... kiss you?" he murmured instead.

The almost shy question coupled with the soft look in his optics nearly had Aqua melting on the spot. So she smiled, answering his question by leaning forward and brushing her lips against his.

When his arms wrapped around her back to bring their chests flush, Aqua thought her heart was going to leap out of her body entirely. She shuddered at the sensation, and she almost _swore_ she could feel his thrumming spark beneath the plating, begging for her to come even closer.

It was a bit nerve-wracking, for sure, but she wasn't afraid. No, more than anything, she felt safe in Rodimus' arms, and wasn't at all surprised to feel her own heart yearn for him this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (i'm thinking about finishing this fic with a full blown spark merge scene here at the end one day. we'll see.)


End file.
